Come see Ursula’s hats

July 11, 2013

On June 28, some 200 people attended the opening of our new exhibit, "Ursula Trudeau: A Life in Hats."

If you haven't had a chance to see the hats yet, please come by to check out the exhibit in the John Black Room of the Saranac Laboratory on Church Street, Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Columbus Day weekend.

While the exhibit will be of interest to our summer tourists, we think it will be especially appreciated by local folks. On one level, it is a tribute to the Trudeau name. The grandfather of Ursula's husband Frank founded the Saranac Laboratory, and his pioneering work as a TB researcher and doctor determined the character of this community. His son and grandson became leading figures in the community in their own right, and his great-grandson became a world-famous, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist.

On a more personal note, we know these hats! In the last 40 years, when something important has been happening in town, Ursula has been there, wearing one of these hats. Ursula's hats have come to be symbolic of our little village and of us. In these hats you will see our quirkiness, our sense of fun, our worldliness and our individualism. Ursula's hats underscore the way our town appreciates the extraordinary and the way we embrace the arts and our history.

Really, most importantly and quite simply, this exhibit is a way to honor a special lady: artist, storyteller, fashion model, world traveler, comedienne, equestrienne, urbanite, patron of the arts, skiier, kyaker, dog lover, Trudeau, hat collector and friend.

We thank Ursula Trudeau for her willingness to share her hats and her stories for this exhibit. We are grateful for the support of members of Historic Saranac Lake for donations of time, talent and funds. For her expertise and artistry as the consulting artist on the exhibit, we thank Diane Leifheit. We thank area businesses: Pink, Bear Essentials, Where'd You Get That Hat? and Bagtime. Be sure to stop by to buy your raffle ticket for a chance to win a gift card from one of these great businesses, a signed exhibit poster by Diane Leifheit or one of Ursula's hats! The drawing will be held at the September Third Thursday Art Walk.